There is one small hotel with decent but un-inspiring rooms on the main plaza in San Luis. The cost is about $5 per night.

There is one small hotel with decent but un-inspiring rooms on the main plaza in San Luis. The cost is about $5 per night.

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Eco-Friendly Farmstays is a charity-run eco-tourism project, offering farmstays with local families. The price for each night's accommodation includes a tree which you must plant (with help), so you will be directly involved in reforestation in the area. It's very basic, no-frills accommodation, but the people are friendly and you will experience authentic rural village life in a little-visited part of Ecuador, well off the beaten track.

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Eco-Friendly Farmstays [http://www.farmstaysecuador.org] is a charity-run eco-tourism project, offering farmstays with local families. The price for each night's accommodation includes a tree which you must plant (with help), so you will be directly involved in reforestation in the area. It's very basic, no-frills accommodation, but the people are friendly and you will experience authentic rural village life in a little-visited part of Ecuador, well off the beaten track.

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Alternatively head up the valley to the Piedra Blanca Ecolodge [http://www.piedrablanca.org].

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Alternatively head up the valley to the Piedra Blanca Ecolodge.

==Contact==

==Contact==

Revision as of 14:38, 5 December 2008

San Luis de Pambil is a small town in Bolivar Province in the warm Coastal Lowlands of Ecuador, or at least in the foothills of the Andes mountains as they slope downwards towards the coastal lowlands. The small, laid back town is the main access point to the stunningly beautiful Piedra Blanca region. San Luis is one of many rural agricultural communities in the area, cultivating crops such as plantains, oranges, sugarcane, coffee and cacao (chocolate) in the fertile soil and sub-tropical climate. The area was once all virgin rainforest, which was partly destroyed by the original settlers, around 50 years ago. The remaining forest is threatened by logging, though environmental awareness is gradually increasing and new ecotourism projects are trying to create alternative sources of income and conserve the forests.

Contents

Get in

By bus, travel to Zapotal (on the main route from Santo Domingo to Guayaquil, between Quevedo and Babahoyo). This takes around 5-6 hours from Quito, or about 3 hours from Guayaquil. From Quito take any bus heading towards Guayaquil, from Guayaquil take any bus heading towards Quito and get off at Zapotal. Zapotal is just a small collection of restaurants and shops on the main road - get off here and wait at the T-junction for the local buses to San Luis de Pambil (the journey takes just over one hour, buses depart every hour and the last bus departs around 6pm). The other, far more adventurous, way in is the 2 day hike down from Salinas de Guaranda, in Bolivar Province - go with a local guide.

Get around

On foot. Or hire a horse to explore higher up the valley. Or arrange for a private vehicle to take you to sites of interest. Hitchhiking here is very easy as the locals are all very friendly.

See

Mountain valleys, waterfalls and streams, the rainforest, hummingbirds, toucans, local life in an agricultural community in an area of wonderful natural beauty.

Do

Go river rafting on a traditional-style balsawood raft. Rafting information from [2].

Buy

Not a lot, so make sure you bring anything vitally important with you. Food supplies are easily available, but there is little in the way of souvenirs or luxuries. There is no bank, so bring enough cash for your trip.

Eat

Drink

Aguardiente - this 'firewater' is made from sugarcane, which is crushed, fermented and then distilled into a clear, potent 60 proof drink. CADO, a local cooperative has achieved organic certification for their sugarcane plantations and can take you on a tour to see how aguardiente is made and taste the results.

Sleep

There is one small hotel with decent but un-inspiring rooms on the main plaza in San Luis. The cost is about $5 per night.

Eco-Friendly Farmstays [3] is a charity-run eco-tourism project, offering farmstays with local families. The price for each night's accommodation includes a tree which you must plant (with help), so you will be directly involved in reforestation in the area. It's very basic, no-frills accommodation, but the people are friendly and you will experience authentic rural village life in a little-visited part of Ecuador, well off the beaten track.